BRITAIN HIT BY ICE, FLOODS AND SNOW

The wintry scene in Dorset

Monday November 5,2012
By Daniel Macadam
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BRITAIN was on flood alert last night after a deluge of rain and snow storms hit large swathes of the country.

Downpours drenched southern England for up to 10 hours and the West Country was hit by a shock heavy snowfall.

Last night the Environment Agency had issued 15 flood warnings and 79 flood alerts. A spokesman said homes in the South-west and East Anglia had been hit by floods.

The Met Office also issued severe weather warnings for large parts of the UK. Experts predicted that tonight will be the coldest Bonfire Night this century.

As millions of Britons woke up yesterday to icy conditions and winds of up to 60mph, at least one bridge was in danger of collapse and part of the M4 was blocked by floods, leading to tailbacks in South Wales.

The main snowfall occurred early yesterday, hitting Wiltshire, Somerset, North Dorset and Devon, as well as northern counties, including Cumbria and County Durham.

 The whole of southern England has had a very wet night Julian Mayes, forecaster with MeteoGroup



Gritting teams were rushed out in Bath and north-east Somerset after the council was caught unawares by snow which was six inches deep in places.

Further east, up to two inches of rain fell. The Met Office said most of the South had up to an inch of rain between 3am and 9am.

In Bournemouth, 10 days’ worth of rain fell in just six hours, and parts of the South-east and East Anglia had 10 hours of constant rain. Julian Mayes, forecaster with MeteoGroup, said: “The whole of southern England has had a very wet night.

“Plymouth had the most rain but many places in the southern half of England had similar amounts.”

There were even warnings of tornadoes from forecasters Netweather, while the Met Office reported gale-force 55mph-plus gusts in the South-east.

Seven climbers were helped to safety, in the dark in the early hours yesterday in Snowdonia, Wales.

Rescue teams battled lightning, snow, hail and lashing rain in three separate operations.

Elsewhere, the extreme conditions brought roads and railways to a halt and led to a number of events being abandoned.

Thousands of football fans were left disappointed after FA Cup matches at non-league Braintree Town, Essex, and Gloucester City were postponed due to waterlogged pitches.

A fireworks display next door to the Olympic Stadium in London was just one of the Guy Fawkes events to be cancelled last night because of the downpour.

The cold snap is set to continue today for Bonfire Night, with experts at Reading University claiming that forecasted highs of 8 to 9C are the lowest for November 5 since at least 1999.

Met Office forecaster, Charles Powell predicted much of the UK will suffer from freezing temperatures tonight.

“It will definitely be a cold night and a frosty start for many,” he said.

Snow has fallen in England for five of the last nine days.

Actress Liz Hurley was one of thousands who took to the internet yesterday to comment on the wintry weather.

“Snow!!!! I don’t think I can remember snow in November.....big flakes too!” she wrote on Twitter from her home in the Cotswolds.

Winter Olympic champion Amy Williams, who lives in Bath but is currently in the French Alps, also said on Twitter: “Can’t believe there is snow in Bath, I’m in Annecy looking at ski mountains with no snow, pretty warm here! Flying home to snow!”

Several roads in the South-west were hit by flooding and in Templecombe, Somerset, there were fears that a bridge could collapse.

Further north, blizzards made conditions treacherous in County Durham and Cumbria. Police issued warnings to motorists as freezing fog descended on Sunderland.

The snowfalls led bookmakers yesterday to slash prices on a White Christmas. Ladbrokes cut the odds of snow on Christmas day in London to 7/2, 4/1 in Cardiff and 3/1 in Edinburgh.

The early cold snap has also seen a 30 per cent surge in the number of domestic rat infestations. Pest control firm Rentokil said call-outs soared last month as the cold, wet weather sent rodents scurrying indoors.
And the snow could be back by the end of this week as freezing temperatures are forecast for northern England and Scotland.

Met Office forecaster Dan Williams said: “Our north-westerly flow is coming from Greenland and windchill is making temperatures feel colder.

“Unsettled is the best way to describe the next week – with showers and rain with a risk of snow over higher ground in the North going into the weekend, with widespread UK frosts.

“It will be generally windy, with the risk of gales in exposed areas, and temperatures largely below average for the next 30 days.”

Britain hit by ice, floods and snow | UK News | Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express

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